Braves run out of baseballs, Babe Ruth strikes out and the game is called in the 7th! (April 5, 1935)

Tags

1935, April 5, Babe Ruth, Boston Braves, Olney Freeman

The Boston Braves, returning north from spring training on April 5, 1935, beat North Carolina State College, 6-2, in a contest called in the seventh inning because the teams run out baseballs, having used the 100 put aside for the game.

Collegiate southpaw Olney Ray Freeman strikes out a 40 year-old Babe Ruth on a two-strike curveball, a feat the lefty would brag about until his death in 2008.

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The Giants set a modern record by stealing 11 bases, in one game, against the Braves. (1912)

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1912, Boston Braves, Cy Young, June 20

There was a lot new in 1912, including the new name, the Boston Braves. Having played for the Rustlers in 1911, Cy Young reported to spring training. He stayed for three weeks and then left admitting his arm was no good.

What wasn’t new was their record. They finished last, 52 games behind the leader.

It was pretty bad that year but June 20 would highlight the calamity. The Giants set a modern record by stealing 11 bases, in one game, against the Braves. New York was ahead 14-2 after the eighth inning. In the ninth, they added seven more runs. The Braves had a rally in the bottom of the ninth for 21-12 score. The 17 runs scored in the ninth set a record.

 

Fred Toney sits out the season rather than play for the Boston Braves (1922)

Tags

1922, Boston Braves, Fred Mitchell, Fred Toney

1922 was a disastrous year for the Boston Braves. It was Fred Mitchell second season as Manager. They finished eighth with a 53-100 record. They were 39 1/2 games behind the leader.

Fred Toney pitched for the NY Giants. On July 30, Toney was traded from the Giants to the Braves along with prospect Larry Benton and $100,000. They were traded for Braves right-hander Hugh McQuillan. Fred knew a bad team when he saw one. He refused to report to the Braves, who were headed for last, and sat out rest of the season.

As a Giants pitcher, Toney had seen his former teammates circling the bases for four inside the park home runs in April. That’s right, four. No way he wanted to pitch on a team that bad. And so he didn’t.

Fred Mitchell would take over the reigns from George Stallings (1921)

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1921, Fred Mitchell, George Stallings

The Boston Braves would radically improve in 1921. Fred Mitchell would take over the reigns from George Stallings. They would finish fourth, 15 games behind, with a 79-74 record.

After so many horrible seasons, Mitchell might as well be known as “Miracle Man” rather than George Stallings. Not that fourth place is that great but it was remarkable improvement after the years 1917 to 1920, all sixth and seventh place finishes. 1922 and 1923 would be a different story.

Stallings had called Mitchell his “right eye”. One of the first things Stallings did when he was hired in 1913 was to bring on Mitchell. Mitchell was the pitching coach and the third base coach. In 1916 Mitchell left to coach Harvard, not that far down the road. From there he coached the Chicago Cubs from 1917 to 1921 when the Braves lured him back to Boston.

Jack Slattery doesn’t last long as manager (1928)

Tags

1928, Boston Braves, Jack Slattery, Judge Emil Fuchs, May 23, Rogers Hornsby

The good news is that in 1928 the Braves did not finish last. The Philadelphia Phillies had that honor. The Boston Braves came in seventh with a 50-103 record finishing 44 1/2 games behind. Jack Slattery and Rogers Hornsby were managers.

Uh oh. Another ugly year.

With 103 loses, I would thought they would have clearly been in last place. Philadelphia certainly earned it losing 109 games. I can’t imagine.

The year didn’t start with great promise. Owner Judge Fuchs hired a college coach Jack Slattery to manage. Two days later he acquired the ever tumultuous Rogers Hornsby in a trade.

Slattery did have some pro experience. He had coached under George Stallings in 1918 and 1919. He had a great record with Tufts, Boston College and Harvard. Slattery was very popular with the Boston sports writers. Judge Fuchs listened to the writers a lot. So Slattery was in. He wouldn’t last long though. Going 11-20, he was out by May 23.

Jack Slattery

 

The Boston Braves drop from fifth place to seventh place, 22 games behind the leader (1926)

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1926, Art Devlin, Babe Pinelli, Boston Braves, Dave Bancroft, Jimmy Welsh, Val Picinich

It is Dave Bancroft’s 3rd year as manager. In 1926, the team is not heading in the right direction. The Boston Braves drop from fifth place to seventh place, 22 games behind the leader with a 66-86 record. Yikes! My oh my!

While they only lost 3 more games in 1926 than 1925, they managed to drop two places.

The Reds blasted the Braves pitching on July 22. They hit 11 runs in the second in a 13-3 game. And then 3 days later on the 25th, Cincinnati third baseman Babe Pinelli brushed up against Braves coach Art Devlin, who had been harassing him. Devlin took a swing at Pinelli and the benches cleared. The police get called in. Now that wasn’t a good thing. They ended up arresting the Braves outfielder Frank Wilson. Cops don’t appreciate getting punched.

It didn’t end there. The next inning Braves Jimmy Welsh collided with the Cincinnati catcher. Val Picinich took a swing at Welsh and got ejected. The benches cleared again. At least the Braves knew how to brawl.

The 1920 Boston Braves came to the bottom of their slide (1920)

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1920, Boston Braves, George Stallings

The 1920 Boston Braves came to the bottom of their slide. In George Stallings 8th year, Boston had a record of 62-90 to finish seventh — 30 games behind the leader.

The “Miracle Man” had long ago run out of miracles. Stallings was a very frustrated man. He blamed the new owners for lack of support. He learned what many have learned … you can’t fire the owners.

Stallings was talented as his 1914 season showed. The 1920 version was a poor example of a baseball team. The team led the league in errors, scored fewer runs than any other team, and was seventh in staff ERA and total runs allowed.

Boston finished just a half game ahead of last-placed Philadelphia because the Phillies played one more game, a loss.

By the end of the season, Stallings would resign.

Jim Thorpe can’t help the Boston Braves (1919)

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1919, Boston Braves, George Stallings, Jim Thorpe, May 21

1919 saw a very slight improvement from the previous year. The Boston Braves, under manager George Stallings, finished sixth with a 57-82 record. It was Stallings 7th season. They were only 38 games behind the leader.

Now to take a shot at things, they acquired the “worlds greatest athlete”, Olympic champion Jim Thorpe. The still finished sixth. Yee gads!

Now the challenge was that Thorpe wasn’t really a baseball player. He was a big name but he wasn’t going to win any games for Boston. The got him on May 21 from the Giants. He came over for the waiver price of $1,500. He ended the year for a .327 average but couldn’t hit a curve ball. He didn’t play any more baseball after 1919 and devoted himself to pro football.

Rabbit enlists in the Navy and the Braves slid continues (1918)

Tags

1918, Boston Braves, George Stallings, Larry Chappell, Rabbit Maranville, September 2

The slide continued for the Boston Braves in 1918. With a 53-71 record, they finished seventh, 28 1/2 games behind under the leadership of George Stallings. This was Stallings 6th year at the helm.

They started the year without Rabbit Maranville. Rabbit had enlisted in the Navy. Amazingly enough though, he did play during his 10-day leave. Incredibly he hit .316 in 11 games and didn’t strike out in 38 at bats. I guess the reprieve from the Navy suited him well.

Of course many teams were losing players to the war effort. One underutilized outfielder, Larry Chappell, didn’t return from the war, dying of influenza at an army camp during the winter. Larry was on 27 at the time. In May 1916, the Braves purchased him, and in 53 at-bats with them he hit .226. Overall, Chappell hit .218 with nine RBI and two stolen bases in 1916. Chappell played his final season in 1917, appearing in four games for the Braves, collecting no hits in two at-bats. He played his final game on April 25. Overall, Chappell hit .226 with no home runs, 26 RBI and nine stolen bases in 109 career games. He walked 25 times and struck out 42 times.

The war also shortened the season. In July, the leagues voted to end the season on September 2, Labor Day. The Braves were probably happy to leave early. They had lost 15 games in a row, only to win the last game of the season against the Giants.

Rabbit Maranville

Braves play their ninth double header in a row (September 15, 1928

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1928, Boston Braves, Double Header, Lance Richbourg, September 15

On September 15, 1928 the Boston Braves play their ninth consecutive doubleheader. Now that is a lot of work.

The streak, which began on September 4th, sees the team lose five in a row, including four to the Giants.

Here is the box score of the second game against Chicago Cubs at Boston Braves Box Score, September 15, 1928. The Braves lost 6-1. Lance Richbourg scored the lone Braves run.

Boston Braves Table

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	PA	BA
Lance Richbourg RF	3	1	1	0	0	1	4	.336
Jack Smith CF	3	0	1	1	1	0	4	.267
George Sisler 1B	4	0	1	0	0	0	4	.338
Rogers Hornsby 2B	3	0	1	0	1	0	4	.382
Eddie Brown LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.272
Les Bell 3B	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.262
Doc Farrell SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.202
Al Spohrer C	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	.228
Ed Brandt P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Foster Edwards P	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.100
Charlie Fitzberger	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.500
Bill Clarkson P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Virgil Barnes P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.077
Kent Greenfield P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.061
Howard Freigau	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	.246
Clay Touchstone P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team Totals	28	1	4	1	4	2	33	.143

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/25/2017.

Rogers Hornsby has one season for the Braves (1928)

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1928, Boston Braves, Jimmy Welsh, Rogers Hornsby, Shanty Hogan

Rogers Hornsby played for the Braves as a second baseman in 1928. Hornsby was born in Winters, Texas on April 27, 1896. He passed away on January 5, 1963.

Hornsby was very, very talented. Talented enough that he won the batting title in his first year and was so controversial that he was traded at the end of the season.

Only nine men in Braves history have led the National League in hitting. Hornsby was the first in the 20th century to do so. He hit .361, second in the league for the Giants.

Where did that get him? Traded to the Braves. The New York manager knew what was going on. He wasn’t going to put up with it, no matter how good Hornsby was.n He was traded for Shanty Hogan, a very promising catcher and Jimmy Welsh, a so-so outfielder.

The Braves would learn the same lesson. Fortunately, it only took them one season.

Rogers Hornsby – 1928

The Braves print tickets and almost go to the series (1916)

Tags

1916, Boston Braves, George Stallings

George Stallings entered his fourth season as manager for Boston Braves in 1916. They finished third, four games behind with a record of 89-63. Not a bad season continuing to decline from the miracle performance of 1914.

The World Series was back at Braves Field in 1916 but it was the Boston Red Sox who played not the Braves.

It would have been very special if it was an all Beantown series. It came close to happening. The Braves were in first as late as September 4th. The were close enough that they even printed tickets up. They weren’t eliminated until October 2 with only 2 games left to play.

After the miracle of 1914, the Braves couldn’t repeat in 1915

Tags

1915, Boston Braves, George Stallings, Johnny Evers, Seattle Bill James

Following the miracle of 1914, was it a fluke? Could the Braves repeat?

It was George Stallings 3rd year as manager. While they couldn’t repeat, they did come in second, 7 games behind the leader with a 83-69 record.

It was a year of injury and illness. Johnny Evers, the league’s MVP in 1914, hurt his ankle sliding. He had to be carried off the field. The injury on April 18 took him out for over two months. Not good timing early in the season.

The biggest blow came to their ace pitcher from 1914. “Seattle Bill” James led the league in winning percentage the year before. He had 26 victories in 1914. He got ill (developed a sore arm) and had to spend the season at home. Ouch!

James pitched in 33 fewer games and won 21 less games. At age 23, his career was over.

George Stallings makes a difference as manager (1913)

Tags

1913, 1914, George Stallings

The Braves 1913 were stunningly horrible, except for one thing. They had a 69-82 record finishing 5th, 31 1/2 games behind. It was the first year for the new manager, George Stallings, and what a change he would make for the Braves.

In 1914, he would earn the title of “The Miracle Man”.

When Stallings took over in 1913, he was the teams eighth manager in seven seasons. No one had held the job for two years in a row since Fred Tenney in 1906-07.

The Braves had finished last in four consecutive seasons, averaging 104 losses and 55 1/2 games out of first.

He would improve things, in 1913, by three places and 20 1/2 games in standings. The fifth place finish was its highest in 11 years.

Managerial Stats Table

Rk	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%
1	1897	29	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	55	77	.417
2	1898	30	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	19	27	.413
3	1901	33	Detroit Tigers	AL	74	61	.548
4	1909	41	New York Highlanders	AL	74	77	.490
5	1910	42	New York Highlanders	AL	78	59	.569
6	1913	45	Boston Braves	NL	69	82	.457
7	1914	46	Boston Braves	NL	94	59	.614
8	1915	47	Boston Braves	NL	83	69	.546
9	1916	48	Boston Braves	NL	89	63	.586
10	1917	49	Boston Braves	NL	72	81	.471
11	1918	50	Boston Braves	NL	53	71	.427
12	1919	51	Boston Braves	NL	57	82	.410
13	1920	52	Boston Braves	NL	62	90	.408
			Philadelphia Phillies		74	104	.416
			Detroit Tigers		74	61	.548
			New York Highlanders		152	136	.528
			Boston Braves		579	597	.492
					879	898	.495

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/22/2017.

Fred Frankhouse is the only bright spot (1935)

Tags

1904, 1935, April 9, Babe Ruth, Boston Braves, Fred Frankhouse, Spitball

When you can win games on the worst team in the history of the Braves, that deserves a note. Not a footnote but a note.

Fred Frankhouse played for the Braves and the Bees from 1930-35 and 1939. He was a right handed pitcher born on April 9, 1904.

The 1935 Braves were flat out horrible. They lost a modern day record of 115 games. That was a record of .248, the worst in franchise history.

What about Frank? He managed to win 11 games and finish with a .423 record. Not bad all things considered. No other Braves pitcher won more than 8 games in 1935 and only one other, Bob Smith, managed to win more than five.

His specialty pitch was “the old roundhouse curve”, and he was often referred to as a “spitballer” during his career as a pitcher.  Frankhouse pitched in Babe Ruth’s final game that year.

Standard Pitching

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G
1927	23	STL	NL	5	1	.833	2.70	6
1928	24	STL	NL	3	2	.600	3.96	21
1929	25	STL	NL	7	2	.778	4.12	30
1930	26	TOT	NL	9	9	.500	5.87	35
1930	26	STL	NL	2	3	.400	7.32	8
1930	26	BSN	NL	7	6	.538	5.61	27
1931	27	BSN	NL	8	8	.500	4.03	26
1932	28	BSN	NL	4	6	.400	3.56	37
1933	29	BSN	NL	16	15	.516	3.16	43
1934	30	BSN	NL	17	9	.654	3.20	37
1935	31	BSN	NL	11	15	.423	4.76	40
1936	32	BRO	NL	13	10	.565	3.65	41
1937	33	BRO	NL	10	13	.435	4.27	33
1938	34	BRO	NL	3	5	.375	4.04	30
1939	35	BSN	NL	0	2	.000	2.61	23
13 Y	13 Y	13 Y	13 Y	106	97	.522	3.92	402
162	162	162	162	12	11	.522	3.92	44
BSN	BSN	BSN	BSN	63	61	.508	3.88	233
STL	STL	STL	STL	17	8	.680	4.05	65
BRO	BRO	BRO	BRO	26	28	.481	3.94	104

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/18/2017.

Eddie Fallenstin first in Little League and then the Braves on April 30, 1933 – Guest blog by Keith Spalding Robbins

Tags

1933, April 31, Boston Braves, Carl Hubbell, Ed Fallenstin, New York Giants, Rabbit Maranville

Guest blog by Keith Spalding Robbins

The newspaper photo of the South Orange Ridgewoods that were coached by the Stonehams also shows the photo of future MLB pitcher Eddie Fallenstin. As youngster in Maplewood, Ed Fallenstin grew up with baseball. His father was involved in the first Lackawanna League in Summit. And with the Stonehams’ patronage of the South Orange Recreation Department, many of Giants players were visitors to the historic Cameron Field baseball diamond giving baseball clinics and day camps.  Most notable was the one game exhibition by The Babe and Lou Gerhig in 1929 in which over 12,000 fans attended the NJ Semi-pro finals. Meeting and seeing of these great players of the 20’s and 3’0s inspired a young Eddie to make it in the Majors.

Although he won the little league title for Charles Stoneham’s team in the early 1920s and then Lackawanna League titles for the Maplewood Maples, he was not signed by the Giants. The Newark Bears got him first.  After getting signed by the Bears he was assigned to Wilkes-Barre for a NY Penn League team. On June 1, he was noted that he had caught the eye of the manager and “would make good for the club.” (Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Jun 1, 1931). He did well there and moved up, making it to the Phillies in 1931 as a 22 -year old rookie with some promise. After a not too successful season mostly in relief with the woeful Phillies, they were only 35 games back in 1931 he was released. After a summer of ‘32 back in minors of Western Pennsylvania, this time at Scranton. He would finish the season with the Jersey City Skeeters. The Braves of that era were not known as a good team but always looking for pitching. And they found and signed Ed Fallenstin in time to start the 1933 season.

On the last Sunday of April, the old Braves field was buzzing, and near capacity crowd of some 35,000 loyalists filled the old ball park. The Giants were in town for a doubleheader, and expectations were not great, as the Braves were in their all too familiar last place position, while the Giants were atop the early season standings. In newspaper reports across the country noted, “The Boston Braves, climaxing a sudden rise from the National League Cellar to the first division.” The Braves had done the most unexpected, and swept the Giants.

The key pitcher in game one, in just one hour and twenty-eight minutes had achieved baseball success, a three hit, shut out. No Giant got past second base.  The youngster on the hill for the Braves was making his first major league start. The newspaper accounts described him as, “…a Maplewood, NJ boy pitching his first full major league game…, a long and lean rookie.”  Ed Fallenstin had just got his first MLB victory.

It was a gem and a good team effort, with the pitcher getting wo strikeouts and giving up just one walk. The Braves suddenly reliable infield turning three double plays resulting in one over the game minimum number of batters came to the plate to face the rookie. Two doubles by eventual Hall of Famer Rabbit Maranville, batting 8^th were enough.  The Braves won 3-0.

Yet on April 30, 1933 against Carl Hubbell and the NY Giants, the future NL MVP, and the 1933 World Champions of Baseball, Fallenstin pitched the game of a lifetime. At Braves Field on the last Sunday of April 1933 with one of the largest crowds in years, Horace Stoneham’s MLB Giants were soundly beaten by his former Little League star player.

Yet the story continues, for later that summer this time the game was at the Polo Grounds, and hopefully with some of his hometown friends and old teammates in the stands. It was June 15, a thursday afternoon game. The Giants again found themselves facing their little league nemesis, Braves rookie Ed Fallenstin. The Giants did find a way to master his pitches. Twenty-seven Giant at bats created 10 hits and three runs, in just five innings. Removed for a pinch hitter in the 6^th, even though he had hit a one out two run scoring double in the 4^th, Fallenstin’s day was done.

The lead was held by Tom Zachary, and when the last out was recorded Maplewood’s best little leaguer had done it again. Ed Fallenstin was victorious and had beaten the Giants and his former little league coach.

The scribe for the rival Dodgers, the old Brooklyn Eagle noted Ed Fallenstin pitched effective ball against the Giants and drove in two runs. (Brooklyn Eagle June 16, 1933.)

Later that summer on July 3^rd back in Boston, the Giants finally got even. Although it took some help from a not-so-sure Braves infield.  In that fateful fifth inning with help from a fielding error, a two- out walk, followed by a double and then single, the Giants had finally tagged Fallenstin. It was his only MLB loss. That inning the Fallenstin and the Braves needed to make four outs, and in before getting that critical inning ending out, three unearned runs scored and sealed the fate for a 5-2 Giants victory.

During the Summer of ’33 it was, Ed Fallenstin, a Boston Brave, a true Little League Giant tamer. If, if only not for a costly 5^th inning lead off error.

He pitched in just a few more games, thus ending his short-lived and otherwise unremarkable MLB career. He did not beat another team nor lose to one either, and finished up with a record of 2-1, with an era of 5.52 and a WHIP of 1.800.

Given his release, he played for many years in semi-pro ball in NJ. In a unique turn, Fallenstin ended up in pitching for the Braves, but this time it was for the Belmar NJ Braves.

 

Braves field defeats the Yankees (August 2, 1931)

Tags

1931, August 2, Boston Red Sox, Braves Field, New York Yankees

Just playing on Braves field defeats the Yankees. The Braves didn’t have to do the work. I know this is a stretch but stranger things have happened.

On August 2, 1931, the Yankees are shut out by the Red Sox at Braves Field, 1-0.

It will be another two years and a day, a major league record spanning three hundred and eight games, before the Bronx Bombers are blanked again.

Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves from 1915–1952, prior to the Braves’ move to Milwaukee in 1953.

The stadium hosted the 1936 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Braves home games during the 1948 World Series.

The Boston Red Sox used Braves Field for their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series since the stadium had a larger seating capacity than Fenway Park.

Braves Field was the site of Babe Ruth’s final season, playing for the Braves in 1935.

Mule Watson gets traded again (April 4, 1918)

Tags

1918, 1921, April 4, August 13, Bert Niehoff, Boston Braves, Double Header, Mule Watson

The Phillies trade infielder Bert Niehoff (.255, 2, 42) on April 4, 1918 and send cash to the Cardinals for rookie right-hander Mule Watson. Niehoff will play just one more season before retiring.

Watson will pitch two seasons with Philadelphia, posting a 7-11 record, before being traded to the Braves.

Mule is very famous for starting both ends of a double header. On the 12th and 13 August 1921, Watson became the last pitcher in Major League history to start both games of a doubleheader twice in the same season.

On August 12, 1921, both teams used the same starting pitcher in both games of a doubleheader at Braves Field in Boston, the only time that’s happened in major league history.  Phillies manager Kaiser Wilhelm (who had taken over from Bill Donovan less than three weeks earlier) sent George Smith to the mound in both games, while boston skipper Fred Mitchell called on Jack Scott, the same fellow who threw the two complete games in a 1927 twin-bill.  (Scott had also started both games of a double dip in 1920.)  The account in the New York Times doesn’t call any special attention to the situation:  “Scott and Smith started both games, but the former was hit hard and finished neither, and Smith did not finish the first.”  Scott took the loss in both games; neither pitcher made it our of the third inning of the opener, then Smith threw a 12-hit shutout in game two.

The next day, Mitchell started Mule Watson in both games of another doubleheader against Philly, and Watson went the distance in winning both games, holding on to win the first game 4-3, then retiring the first 14 batters he faced in game two on the way to a two-hit shutout.  Watson, like Scott, had previous experience starting two games in a day, having done so twice in his first two months in the majors in 1918 for the A’s.  That made Watson, who won 50 games in an otherwise unremarkable major league career, the last man to do doubleheader duty twice in a season.

Source: https://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/a-thorough-account-of-pitchers-who-have-started-both-games-of-a-doubleheader-in-the-major-leagues/

How bad can it get in a season? Owner Judge Emil Fuchs manages the team. (1929)

Tags

1922, 1929, Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Judge Emil Fuchs

Judge Emil Fuchs

How bad can it get in a season? I don’t know if 1929 was the worst but the depression started and the Boston Braves hit a new low.

That was pretty depressing for sure. The went 56-98 ending up eighth and 43 games behind. It was so bad the owner, Judge Emil Fuchs, managed the team. In fact, he managed the whole season.

While this is hard to believe, the team had actually been slightly worse the year before. So, in 1929, the improved 6 whole games and managed not to lose 100+ games. But, when you are in last place, everything is relative. They hadn’t been in last since 1924.

You can’t really say that Fuchs had his heart in baseball. He was the attorney for John McGraw when he was with the New York Giants. McGraw bought the Braves with with Christy Mathewson and James McDonough in 1922.

Matthewson was originally intended to be the principal owner. However, Mathewson’s precarious health (he’d suffered a severe case of tuberculosis during World War I and never recovered) forced him to turn over the team presidency to Fuchs after the 1923 season.

After Jack Slattery quit as manager, Fuchs hired Rogers Hornsby to manage the rest of the 1928 season. However, Fuchs was already in financial trouble, and was forced to sell Hornsby to the Chicago Cubs after the season.

He then took over as his own manager, finishing in last place. The Philadelphia Phillies loaned Fuchs $35,000 to keep the Braves solvent.

Boston Braves win at the South End Grounds beating the Dodgers 11-7 (May 2, 1912)

Tags

1911, 1912, Brooklyn Dodgers, Buster Brown, James Gaffney, May 2, South End Grounds, William Hepburn Russell

Buster Brown

Team owner William Hepburn Russell died after the 1911 season and his stock was bought up by a group including James Gaffney and former baseball manager John Montgomery Ward. The team was renamed the Boston Braves after the Tammany Hall Braves.

At South End Grounds on May 2, 1912, the hometown Braves score ten runs in the first two innings and hold on to defeat the Dodgers, 11-7.

Brooklyn scores four runs in the bottom of the third to knock out Boston’s starter Buster Brown.

Here is a little more about Buster’s career as a pitcher.

Standard Pitching

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS
1905	23	STL	NL	8	11	.421	2.97	23	21
1906	24	STL	NL	8	16	.333	2.64	32	27
1907	25	TOT	NL	10	12	.455	2.74	30	24
1907	25	STL	NL	1	6	.143	3.39	9	8
1907	25	PHI	NL	9	6	.600	2.42	21	16
1908	26	PHI	NL	0	0		2.57	3	0
1909	27	TOT	NL	4	8	.333	3.16	25	18
1909	27	PHI	NL	0	0		3.24	7	1
1909	27	BSN	NL	4	8	.333	3.14	18	17
1910	28	BSN	NL	9	23	.281	2.67	46	29
1911	29	BSN	NL	8	18	.308	4.29	42	25
1912	30	BSN	NL	4	15	.211	4.01	31	21
1913	31	BSN	NL	0	0		4.73	2	0
9 Yr	9 Yr	9 Yr	9 Yr	51	103	.331	3.21	234	165
162	162	162	162	9	18	.331	3.21	40	28
BSN	BSN	BSN	BSN	25	64	.281	3.54	139	92
PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	9	6	.600	2.56	31	17
STL	STL	STL	STL	17	33	.340	2.86	64	56

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/15/2017.

Jim Thorpe signs as a free agent with the Giants (February 1, 1913)

Tags

1913, 1919, Boston Braves, February 1, Jim Thorpe, September 25

Jim Thorpe

Olympic hero Jim Thorpe, turning down an offer from the last-place Browns, signs with the Giants on February 1, 1913, the defending NL champs.

Because the minor league team that last held Jim Thorpe’s contract had disbanded in 1910, he found himself in the rare position of being a sought-after free agent at the major league level during the era of the reserve clause, and thus had a choice of baseball teams for which to play

The Native American, who grew up in the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, will compile a lifetime .252 batting average during his six seasons in the major leagues, which also includes stints with the Reds and Braves.

His last appearance would be for the Boston Braves on September 25, 1919.

Twenty one innings with a 0-0 tie gets broken up (August 1, 1918)

Tags

1918, August 1, Boston Braves, Buck Herzog, Dick Goat

Boston Braves Logo

There are long games and then there are very long games. No one scoring a run makes it even worse.

So, on August 1, 1918, the Pirates break the longest scoreless tie in baseball history against the Boston Braves, when the team tallies two runs in the top of the twenty-first inning for an eventual 2-0 victory at Braves Field. The Braves had 15 hits but were unable to score. The lead off hitter, Buck Herzog, had 5 hits but nobody could get him home.

The mark will be matched by Giants and Reds in 1967, when each team is held scoreless for twenty innings, until the decisive run is scored in the next frame on a bases-loaded walk to Dick Groat.

Boston Braves Table

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	Details
Buck Herzog 2B	9	0	5	0	1	0	.229
Jim Kelly LF	8	0	1	0	0	1	.207	2·SB,HBP
Red Massey CF	9	0	4	0	0	0	.291
Al Wickland RF	8	0	2	0	1	1	.266
Red Smith 3B	8	0	1	0	0	2	.306	SH
Ed Konetchy 1B	6	0	1	0	3	0	.218
John Henry C	2	0	0	0	1	0	.208
Tom Miller PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Doc Bass PR	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	SB
Art Wilson C	5	0	1	0	0	0	.250
Jimmy Smith SS	7	0	0	0	1	2	.185	HBP
Art Nehf P	7	0	0	0	0	0	.179	SH
Johnny Rawlings PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	.209
Team Totals	71	0	15	0	7	6	.211

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/13/2017.

July 4, 1919 – The second game and … my dad is born!

Tags

1919, Dick Rudolph, Ebbets Field, Everett Wiley Wilson, Johnny Rawlings, July 4, Rabbit Maranville

The Boston Braves (now known as the Atlanta Braves) won the second game of the Double Header on July 4, 1919 at Ebbets Field after having lost the first game. At this point in the season we were in 7th place, 15 1/2 games behind.

My dad (Everett Wiley Wilson) was born this day. He probably would have expected them to split this. He saw or listened to a lot of games over the years. Johnny Rawlings, the second baseman, went 4 for 5 at bats in this game with a home run, a double, and a stolen base. Rabbit Maranville, our shortstop,  went 2 for 3 with a home run and sacrifice hit. Dick Rudolf was the winning pitcher with a complete game. Both runs were earned.

And so, my dad was born. He would come to love the Braves.

The longest game ever played ends in a 1-1 tie (May 1, 1920)

Tags

1920, Boston Braves, Joe Oeschger, May 1

Joe Oeschger

The longest game ever played ends after 26 innings in a 1-1 tie. They would have kept on playing but it was called because of darkness.

Now imagine this. Brooklyn Robin Leon Cadore and Brave Joe Oeschger both go the distance for their respective clubs. Braves’ Charlie Pick establishes the major league record for hitless at-bats in one game as he goes 0-for-11 in the marathon.

Oescheger only gave up 9 hits the entire game, while Cadore allowed 15.

For the rest of the 1920 season Oescheger won 15 games with a 3.46 earned run average.

 

Making a change, new manager but the same owner (1930)

Tags

1930, Bill McKechnie, Boston Braves, Judge Emil Fuchs

Judge Fuchs’, the owner, decided to make a change in the manager position.

It happens frequently in baseball. What you don’t see, because it can’t be done, is the owner being fired. I am sure there are lots of times the fans would prefer that. It can’t happen.

He selected Bill McKechnie as the Boston Braves manager in 1930. He had a pretty good track record. In Pittsburgh he won the World Series in 1925. In St. Louis he won the pennant in 1928. After he left Boston he won a World Series for Cincinnati in 1940.

In 1930 the Braves finished 6th, 22 games behind the leader. Their record was 70-84. It wouldn’t get much better during his eight years in Boston.

Cardinals hurler Hi Bell goes the distance in both games of a Sportsman’s Park doubleheader beating the Braves, 6-1 and 2-1 (July 19, 1924)

Tags

1924, Boston Braves, Hi Bell, July 19, St. Louis Cardinals

This is stunning. We can’t imagine it today. It is hard to get one complete game now. Cardinals hurler Herman “Hi” Bell goes the distance in both games of a Sportsman’s Park doubleheader on July 19, 1924, beating the Boston Braves, 6-1 and 2-1.

The 27 year-old right-hander from Kentucky will be the last National League pitcher to win two complete game victories in one day.

For his career, he compiled a 32–34 record in 221 appearances, most as a relief pitcher, with an 3.69 earned run average and 191 strikeouts. Bell was a member of three National League pennant winners (1926, 1930 & 1933), winning two World Series with the 1926 Cardinals and the 1933 Giants. Don’t we all wish we could do that?

In World Series play, he recorded no decisions in three appearances, with a 4.50 earned run average and 1 strikeout.

July 4, 1919 – A double header

Tags

1919, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, Everett Wiley Wilson, July 4

My dad was born on this day. He loved the Atlanta Braves. They were the Boston Braves at this point.

1919 was not a great year for the Braves and July 4^th would be fairly typical of the season. The played a double header on this day. They split the pair with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

And so, my dad (Everett Wiley Wilson) was born and the Braves split a pair.

18 putouts is a record (June 26, 1935)

Tags

1935, Babe Ruth, Boston Braves, June 26, Lloyd Waner

Lloyd Waner (The Poison)

There are some things as a fan you aren’t proud of. There are some records that are set where your team is on the loosing side of things.

On June 26, 1935, Pirates’ center fielder Lloyd Waner (his nickname was the Little Poison) sets the major league mark recording 18 putouts in a doubleheader sweep of the Boston Braves. He would later play for the Braves in 1941.

Not a pretty day for the Boston Braves.

And of course, 1935 wasn’t a great year for the Braves in general. They would finish dead last that year with the worst record in the National League. A 38-115 season is just not pretty.

It was also a year of dreams for Babe Ruth. He really wanted to manage. He came to Braves in February of 1935 as vice president and assistant manager. The Braves would give him a shot. To entice the Babe, the team owner, Emil Fuchs promised Ruth a share of the team profits (assuming there would be some). It just didn’t work out for the Babe.

The Barnes brothers battle it out in a pitching duel (June 26, 1924)

Tags

1917, 1923, 1924, Boston Braves, Jesse Barnes, June 26, New York Giants, No Hitter, October 2, Virgil Barnes

Jesse Barnes – Boston Braves

In a matchup at the Polo Grounds on June 26, 1924, Giants’ right-hander Virgil Barnes faces his older sibling, Jesse, marking the first time brothers have started against one another in major league history. Neither of Luther and Sade’s sons will be credited with the victory, but Jesse will be tagged with the loss when New York beats his Boston Braves, 8-1.

The Barnes brothers will match up four more times during their careers‚ the first, including three days from this date.

Jesse began his majors career in 1914 with the Boston Braves. In 1917 he led the National League with 21 losses. On October 2, 1917, he became the only NL pitcher to walk two times in one inning.

In 1918, Jesse was traded to the New York Giants. He had three very good years with the Giants. On the last day of the 1919 season, he won his National League-leading 25th victory, 6–1, over Lee Meadows and the Philadelphia Phillies at Polo Grounds. The game was played at a feverish pace and lasted a mere 51 minutes, a major league record that still stands as the shortest nine-inning game ever played.

In 1920 Jesse had 20 wins, following with 15 wins in 1921 and two victories in the 1921 World Series against the New York Yankees. Then, in 1922 he hurled a no-hitter against the Phillies.

He returned to the Boston Braves in 1923, playing for them three years before joining the Brooklyn Robins from 1926 through 1927. For the second time, he led the league in losses (20) in 1924.

Both Jesse and Virgil were teammates with the Giants from 1919 to 1923.

Here is the box score from June 26, 1924.

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG
Dave Bancroft SS	4	1	1	0	0	0	.303	.375	.373
Ray Powell CF	4	0	1	0	0	0	.202	.255	.242
Bill Cunningham LF	4	0	2	1	0	0	.311	.351	.429
Stuffy McInnis 1B	4	0	3	0	0	0	.280	.303	.360
Cotton Tierney 2B	4	0	0	0	0	1	.308	.354	.389
Casey Stengel RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	.259	.325	.362
Ernie Padgett 3B	3	0	0	0	0	1	.297	.353	.416
Mickey O’Neil C	3	0	0	0	0	1	.262	.270	.273
Jesse Barnes P	1	0	0	0	0	0	.143	.143	.143
Al Yeargin P	2	0	0	0	0	2	.316	.316	.421
Team Totals	33	1	7	1	0	5	.212	.212	.212

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/20/2016.

When two 100 plus loosing teams face each other, who loses? (October 6, 1923)

Tags

1905, 1923, Boston Beanearters, Boston Braves, October 6

Boston Braves

On October 6, 1923. for only the second time in major league history, two 100-loss teams face one another when the 52-100 Boston Braves beat the 50-102 Phillies in the first game of a season-ending doubleheader, 5-4.

Boston, then known as the Beaneaters, was also part of the first occurrence of this rare type of matchup when the 50-100 club played the 45-103 team from Brooklyn in 1905.

Not the kind of record you want to be known for by any means. But that is the Braves. A long history, some not so fun to remember.

 

Les Mann, an all around athletic hero and Boston Brave — Guest blog by Keith Spalding Robbins

Tags

1914, 1935, George Stallings, Jimmie Foxx, Keith Robbins, Les Mann, Max Carey, Miami Baseball School, Wheaties

Guest blog article by Keith Spalding Robbins

Figure 1: Les Mann teaching a Miami local the art of being a Catcher. Sorry Toronto, but there no dresses worn in this baseball game.
Source: Baseball Hall of Fame Photo

Les Mann: baseball hero, football hero, basketball star, World Series hero, Track and Field hero, Wheaties Box Hero, Global Baseball Ambassador, Olympian and of course a Boston Brave.

He was a man of great athletic talents not seen since fellow Brave Dione Sanders.

His life was full, and his influence in baseball today albeit forgotten was paramount in making international baseball a reality.

Before the creation of US Baseball, Les Mann took US Select teams to Japan, Berlin, Havana, and throughout the world as amateur goodwill ambassadors for baseball.

By all accounts his best sport was probably football where he dominated the college gridiron of the Pre WWI era. He was classified as a football All-American in 1911 as a 19-year old and freshman at Springfield College. His most remarkable game was against Jim Thorpe and his Carlise School. And to stay busy and to pay bills he played professional baseball in the summer months. He played for the Braves in the summer and attended nearby Springfield College in winter months. By the time the Braves signed him in 1913 they forbid him from football, so Mann coached the football team and played basketball.

In the platoon system of George Stallings’ 1914 Miracle Braves, Mann did not start often but always seemed to be in thick of things and when a hit was needed, he delivered. In the World Series he knocked in the winning run in game two and scored the winning run in the twelve inning game three. He caught the game ending fly ball as well in game 4, and got his shirt ripped off his back by the excited beantowners as they stormed the field and celebrated the Braves miraculous victory.

Yet for all his on the field heroics, it was his advanced coaching and teaching that propelled him to greater success. For one he was the creator and inventor of film studies in sports.

He started a baseball school in Miami, along with Pirates Hall of Fame Center Fielder Max Carey and featured Jimmie Foxx as the headliner. With ads placed in Sporting News and other magazine the school had a national reach recruited the best baseball youth talent. The incentive was not MLB connections but the chance to be part of the foreign baseball and global travel. It was known as the Miami Baseball School.

This school served as springboard for Mann created what was later known as the National Baseball Congress which sponsored US National Travel teams.

In 1935 with sponsorship from Wheaties Cereal he took a select team adorned with the US letters on the front, and Wheaties on the left sleeve to Japan for a series of baseball exhibitions. This successful tour set the stage for an even greater baseball endeavor.

In 1936 Les Mann organized the US Olympic Baseball Team that played a demonstration game in front of Hitler himself and 100,000 baseball illiterate Germans. As part of making baseball a demonstration sport in the 1936 Games, Mann was promised that baseball would be a full sport in the 1940 and 1944 games. The 1940 Games were supposed to have be staged in Tokyo.

He did so with sponsorship from Louisville Slugger and other baseball companies but without any MLB support, nor US Olympic Team funding either.

So the connection between the Braves and the Olympics far extends back some 80 years ago this summer well beyond the confines of Turner Field, and rests with a former Miracle Braves part-timer centerfielder Les Mann.

Photo Source: Baseball Hall of Fame Photo

 

 

 

Philadelphia Phillies at Boston Braves win 3-0 on Opening Day (April 14, 1915)

Tags

1915, April 14, Boston Braves, Opening Day, Philadelphia Phillies

It’s opening day the year after the Miracle Braves won the World Series. So, on April 14, 1915, the Phillies beat the Braves 3-0. Dick Rudolph was the losing pitcher for the Braves. George Stallings, coming off the glow of 1914 is managing. The game is played at Fenway Park with 12,000 in attendance. The game started at 1:43.

The Braves start the season 0-1. They had lost opening day in 1914 as well.

No big deal. The Braves would finish 2nd in the National League with a 83-69 record, 7 games behind Philadelphia. The Boston Red Sox would end up beating Philadelphia in the World Series 4-1.

 

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	PO	A
Herbie Moran RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	0
Johnny Evers 2B	4	0	2	0	0	0	4	.500	.500	.500	1.000	2	2	2·SB
Joe Connolly LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	4	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	0
Sherry Magee CF	3	0	1	0	1	0	4	.333	.500	.333	.833	4	0
Butch Schmidt 1B	3	0	0	0	1	1	4	.000	.250	.000	.250	7	0
Red Smith 3B	3	0	1	0	0	0	4	.333	.333	.333	.667	1	1	SB,SH
Rabbit Maranville SS	3	0	2	0	0	1	3	.667	.667	.667	1.333	2	3
Hank Gowdy C	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	9	2
Dick Rudolph P	3	0	0	0	0	2	3	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	2
Team Totals	30	0	6	0	2	5	33	.200	.250	.200	.450	27	10

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/17/2016.

What would the all time roster for the Braves look like?

Tags

Andruw Jones, Bobby Lowe, Chipper Jones, Craig Kimbrel, Dale Murphy, Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron, Herman Long, Joe Torre, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn

Atlanta Braves Logo

How would you fill out the all time roster for a team with as much talent as the Braves have had since 1871? Not easy. Recently Nick Selbe gave it a shot.

Here is his list.

Year founded: 1871

1966-present: Atlanta Braves
1953-1965: Milwaukee Braves
1936-1940: Boston Bees
1912-1935, 1941-1952: Boston Braves
1911: Boston Rustlers
1907-1910: Boston Doves
1883-1906: Boston Beaneaters
1876-1882: Boston Red Caps
1871-1875: Boston Red Stockings

Total WAR: 819.9

C: Joe Torre (1960-1968; 33.3)
1B: Dale Murphy (1976-1990; 46.9)
2B: Bobby Lowe (1890-1901; 19.1)
3B: Eddie Mathews (1952-1966; 94.4)
SS: Herman Long (1890-1902; 35.4)
OF: Hank Aaron (1954-1974; 142.1)
OF: Chipper Jones (1993-2012; 85.0)
OF: Andruw Jones (1996-2007; 61.0)

SP: Kid Nichols (1890-1901; 108.5)
SP: Warren Spahn (1942, 1946-1964; 92.0)
SP: Phil Niekro (1964-1983, 1987; 90.0)
RP: Craig Kimbrel (2010-2014; 12.2)

Making the all-time roster for MLB’s oldest continually running franchise was no small task. To make room for the three outfielders, we shifted Dale Murphy to first base, despite his primarily playing the outfield. Murphy made 205 appearances at first base in his first two big league seasons.

Though none of them made the final cut, the trio of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine deserve to be mentioned. As teammates from 1993-2002, they combined for a 453-224 record, with 4,616 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Source: Filling Out All-Time Rosters for Each MLB Franchise

Boston Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day (April 12, 1916)

Tags

1916, April 12, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Dick Rudolph, Rabbit Maranville, Sherry Magee

Rabbit Maranville

It is opening day in 1916. It is a great day for a win. The Boston Braves will not disappoint us this day. They beat the Dodgers 5-1. Playing at Ebbets Field, the attendance is projected to be around 10,000. Pretty good for those days.

The winning pitcher is Dick (Baldy) Rudolph. Rabbit Maranville will hit .500 starting the season very well. Sherry Magee will bat .600. The losing pitcher for the Dodgers is Larry Cheney.

I love opening day. A day filled with hope.

 

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	PO	A
Rabbit Maranville SS	4	1	2	0	0	1	5	.500	.500	.750	1.250	1	3	2B,SB,SH
Johnny Evers 2B	3	1	0	1	1	1	5	.000	.250	.000	.250	0	5	SH
Joe Wilhoit RF	3	0	0	1	0	0	5	.000	.000	.000	.000	2	0	SB,2·SH
Sherry Magee LF	5	1	3	1	0	0	5	.600	.600	1.000	1.600	3	0	3B
Ed Konetchy 1B	4	0	2	0	0	1	4	.500	.500	.500	1.000	13	0
Red Smith 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	.000	.000	.000	.000	1	1	SH
Pete Compton CF	1	0	0	0	3	0	4	.000	.750	.000	.750	3	0
Hank Gowdy C	4	1	1	0	0	2	4	.250	.250	.250	.500	4	0
Dick Rudolph P	3	1	1	0	1	0	4	.333	.500	.667	1.167	0	3	2B
Team Totals	30	5	9	4	5	5	40	.300	.400	.433	.833	27	12

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/17/2016.

The Braves first unassisted triple play (October 6, 1923)

Tags

1923, Boston Braves, Ernie Padgett, October 6

Ernie Padgett

Triple plays aren’t easy. Unassisted triple plays are very rare. They are an amazing thing to see.

I wished I could have seen this one. History in the making for the whole National League. No one had ever seen this before.

The first unassisted triple play in National League history occurs on October 6, 1923 when the Boston Braves’ shortstop Ernie Padgett catches Phillies first baseman Walter Holke’s line drive, doubles up James Tierney at second, and then tags Cliff Lee for the third out.

In MLB, a total of fifteen players have fielded an unassisted triple play,^[3] making this feat rarer than a perfect game.^[4] Of these fifteen players, eight were shortstops, five were second basemen and two were first basemen. TheCleveland Indians are the only franchise to have three players achieve the feat while on their roster: Ball, Bill Wambsganss and Asdrúbal Cabrera. The shortest time between two unassisted triple plays occurred in May 1927, when Johnny Neun executed the feat less than 24 hours after Jimmy Cooney.^[5] Conversely, it took more than 41 seasons after Neun’s play before Ron Hansen performed the feat on July 30, 1968, marking the longest span between unassisted triple plays.^[5] The last player to make an unassisted triple play is Eric Bruntlett, accomplishing the feat on August 23, 2009.^[6] Only Neun and Bruntlett executed unassisted triple plays that ended the game.

Source: Wikipedia

Boston Braves at Brooklyn Robins lose 8-2 (April 14, 1914)

Tags

1914, April 14, Bert Whaling, Boston Braves, Brookly Robins, Butch Schmidt, Charlie Deal, Ebbets Field, George Stallings, Joe Connolly, Johnny Evers, Larry Gilbert, Lefty Tyler, Opening Day, Rabbit Maranville, Tommy Griffith

The 1914 Boston Braves started the season on April 14 at Ebbets Field against the Brooklyn Robins. Opening day is always amazing. No one knew it would be the “Miracle Braves” that year. The Braves performed one of the most memorable reversals in major league history, going from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July.

They lost 8-2. The attendance was about 15,000 and started at 2:09. The losing pitcher was  Lefty Tyler. The Braves had 9 hits for the game and scored 2 runs in the 8th. George Stallings was the manager for the Braves. It wasn’t a great start for World Series champs that year. It would get better though.

The starting line ups for the teams was as follows.

	Boston Braves				Brooklyn Dodgers
1	Rabbit Maranville	SS		1	Jack Dalton	CF
2	Johnny Evers	2B		2	George Cutshaw	2B
3	Larry Gilbert	CF		3	Jake Daubert	1B
4	Tommy Griffith	RF		4	Zack Wheat	LF
5	Butch Schmidt	1B		5	Red Smith	3B
6	Joe Connolly	LF		6	Casey Stengel	RF
7	Charlie Deal	3B		7	Dick Egan	SS
8	Bert Whaling	C		8	Otto Miller	C
9	Lefty Tyler	P		9	Ed Reulbach	P

Here is how the Braves batted that day.

Batting	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
Rabbit Maranville SS	4	0	1	1	0	2
Johnny Evers 2B	4	0	1	0	1	0
Larry Gilbert CF	5	0	1	0	0	0
Tommy Griffith RF	5	0	0	0	0	0
Butch Schmidt 1B	3	0	0	0	1	0
Joe Connolly LF	3	0	1	0	1	1
Charlie Deal 3B	3	0	1	0	0	0
Jack Martin PR-3B	0	1	0	0	0	0
Oscar Dugey PH-3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
Bert Whaling C	3	1	1	0	0	2
Hank Gowdy C	1	0	0	0	0	0
Lefty Tyler P	2	0	2	0	0	0
Dick Crutcher P	1	0	1	1	0	0
Les Mann PH	1	0	0	0	0	1
Team Totals	36	2	9	2	3	6

Source: April 14, 1914 Boston Braves at Brooklyn Robins Play by Play and Box Score | Baseball-Reference.com

April 14, 1914

Ted Cather helps win in 1914

Tags

1914, April 9, Boston Braves, May 20, Ted Cather

Ted Cather

Theodore Physick Cather was born in Chester, Pennsylvania on May 20, 1889. Ted played outfielder from 1912-1915. He would play for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves.

In 1914, Cather was a member of the Braves team that went from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July.

Ted passed away on April 9, 1945 in Elkton, Maryland.

Source: Ted Cather – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johnny Evers rejoins the Braves as a scout (1929)

Tags

1929, Albany Senators, Bill McKechnie, Boston Braves, Emil Fuchs, Hank Gowdy, Johnny Evers, Rogers Hornsby

Johnny Evers

Johnny Evers rejoined the Boston Braves as a scout. As Braves owner Emil Fuchs sold manager Rogers Hornsby to the Cubs and assumed managerial duties himself for the 1929 season, Fuchs hired Evers as a coach. Fuchs had no experience as a field manager, and so Evers became captain of the Braves, directing the team during the game and dealing with umpires.

Evers and fellow coach Hank Gowdy played in one game in the 1929 season, coming into the bottom of the ninth inning on October 6, 1929. In the process, Evers became the oldest player in the league for the year. Evers remained a coach for the Braves under Bill McKechnie, who succeeded Fuchs as field manager in 1930, and served in the role through 1932. He continued to scout for the Braves, and then became general manager of the Albany Senators of the New York-Pennsylvania League in 1935.

He resigned from Albany at the end of the season. Over his managerial career, he posted a 180–192 record.

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” ~Babe Ruth

Tags

Babe Ruth

It is the optimism of sports, and baseball in particular, that I love. Babe Ruth got it for sure.

Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.

~~Babe Ruth

Johnny Evers wanted to play for less money (1914)

Tags

1914, Boston Braves, Chalmers Award, Federal League, Johnny Evers

Johnny Evers

After the 1913 season, Johnny Evers was offered $100,000 ($2,386,195 in current dollar terms) to jump to the Federal League, but he opted to take less money to remain with the Cubs.

In February 1914, after Evers signed his players to contracts, Murphy fired Evers as manager and traded him to the Boston Braves for Bill Sweeney and Hub Perdue. Murphy insisted that Evers had resigned as manager, which Evers denied. Evers insisted he was a free agent, but the league assigned him to the Braves. He signed a four-year contract at $10,000 per season ($235,449 in current dollar terms), with a $20,000 signing bonus.

During the 1914 season, the Braves fell into last place of the eight-team NL by July 4. However, the Braves came back from last place in the last ten weeks of the season to win the NL pennant. Evers’ .976 fielding percentage led all NL second basemen. The Braves defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series, four games to none, as Evers batted 7-for-16 (.438). Evers won the Chalmers Award, the forerunner of the modern-day Most Valuable Player award, ahead of teammate Rabbit Maranville.

Evers was limited in 1915 by injuries, and also served suspension for arguing with umpires. After a poor season in 1916, Evers began the 1917 season with a .193 batting average. Due to Evers’ declining performance, the Braves placed Evers on waivers at mid-season, and he was claimed by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Evers rejected an offer to become manager of the Jersey City Skeeters of the International League that offseason. He signed with the Boston Red Sox as a player-coach for the 1918 season, but was released without playing a game for them. Not receiving another offer from an MLB team, Evers traveled to Paris as a member of the Knights of Columbus to promote baseball in France.

Johnny Evers is MVP for the 1914 World Series Champions

Tags

1881, 1914, 1946, 1947, Frank Selee, Hall of Fame, Johnny Evers, July 21, March 28, MVP, Troy NY

Johnny Evers

John Joseph Evers was born on July 21, 1881 and was a second baseman and manager. He played from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. He also appeared in one game apiece for the Chicago White Sox and Braves while coaching them in 1922 and 1929, respectively.

Evers was born in Troy, New York. After playing for the local minor league baseball team for one season, Frank Selee, manager of the Cubs, purchased Evers’s contract and soon made him his starting second baseman. Evers helped lead the Cubs to four National League pennants, including two World Series championships. The Cubs traded Evers to the Braves in 1914. That season, Evers led the Braves to victory in the World Series, and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Evers continued to play for the Braves and Phillies through 1917. He then became a coach, scout, manager, and general manager in his later career.

Known as one of the smartest ballplayers in MLB, Evers also had a surly temper that he took out on umpires. Evers was a part of a great double-play combination with Joe Tinker and Frank Chance, which was immortalized as “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance” in the poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon”. Evers was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1946.

Evers passed away on March 28, 1947.

 

Charlie Deal helps the 1914 Boston Braves win the World Series

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1891, 1914, 1979, Boston Braves, Charlie Deal, Federal League, October 30, September 16, World Series

Charlie Deal

Charles Albert Deal was born on October 30, 1891 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania and played third base in the Major Leagues from 1912 to 1921. He would play for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Terriers, and Detroit Tigers.

In 1914, Deal was a member of the Braves team that went from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. The team then went on to defeat Connie Mack’s heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series. When his request for a salary increase for 1915 was rejected, Deal jumped to the Federal League, playing for the St. Louis Terriers.

In 1917 Deal led the National League in sacrifice hits with 29. He also proved to be very reliable defensively, leading National League third baseman in fielding three years in a row (1919–1921). Deal then played for several teams in the Pacific Coast League in the mid-1920s, before ending his career at Chattanooga in the Southern Association in 1927.

He passed away on September 16, 1979 in Covina, California.

Tom Hughes helps the Boston Braves win the World Series in 1914

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1914, Boston Braves, Fred Mitchell, George Stallings, January 28, November 1, October 5, September 5, Tom Hughes, World Series

Tome Hughes

Thomas L. Hughes born in Coal Creek, Colorado, on January 28, 1884. was a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Braves (1914–18). He was also the brother of former major league pitcher Ed Hughes.

He helped the Braves win the 1914 World Series. His contract with Rochester was purchase by the Braves on September 5, 1914.

George Stallings was then manager of the Braves. Stallings had witnessed his performance with the Highlanders and with Rochester. And Fred Mitchell, who essentially served as Stallings’ pitching coach on the Braves, coached with Stallings on the Highlanders, then played with Hughes at Rochester in 1911. The day Hughes was purchased, the Braves were in a first-place tie with the Giants; they finished winning 27 of 34 games to sweep past New York. Hughes contributed two victories to the late-season run; his first, a complete-game 3-2 effort on September 29 against Chicago, clinched the pennant for the Braves.

It was the Braves’ first championship since the old Beaneaters took the title in 1898. Hughes won again on October 5 against Brooklyn as Stallings was clearly resting James, Rudolph, and Tyler for the World Series against the Philadelphia A’s. Even though Hughes came to the Braves late in the season, the team’s victory brought him acclaim in hometown Salida. Salida’s Mountain Mail noted,

Mr. Hughes grew up in this city, spends his winters here and has a multitude of friends who take delight in his success and who would like to see him have a chance in the World Series. His friends here have great confidence in him.

Hughes did not appear in the World Series, as the Braves dispatched the A’s in four straight games. Joining the team late, he was not eligible to receive $2,812 in World Series winning player shares. His late-season performance, however, gained him a place with the Braves for the next season.

He led the National League in Games (50), Saves (9) and Games Finished (22) in 1915 and Won-Loss percentage (.842) in 1916.

His accomplishments are being the Braves franchise career leader in WHIP (1.022) and Hits Allowed/9IP (6.77).

In 9 seasons he had a 56–39 Win-Loss record, 160 Games (87 Started), 55 Complete Games, 9 Shutouts, 59 Games Finished, 16 Saves, 863 Innings Pitched, 703 Hits Allowed, 309 Runs Allowed, 245 Earned Runs Allowed, 14 Home Runs Allowed, 235 Walks, 476 Strikeouts, 31 Hit Batsmen, 16 Wild Pitches, 3,340 Batters Faced, 2.56 ERA and a 1.087 WHIP.

He died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 77 on November 1, 1961.

 

After being ejected for swearing Johnny Evers claims he was talking to the ball. (September 14, 1914)

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1914, Boston Braves, Federal League, Johnny Evers, Miracle Braves, September 14

Johnny Evers

After being ejected for swearing on September 14, 1914, Johnny Evers claims he was talking to the ball and not to umpire Mal Eason. The Boston Braves’ shortstop is still suspended for three days.

I love the creativity of his approach. While he missed three games, it didn’t seem to hurt the miracle season of 1914.

Consider this about Evers.

After the 1913 season, Evers was offered $100,000 ($2,386,195 in current dollar terms) to jump to the Federal League, but he opted to take less money to remain with the Cubs.^[ In February 1914, after Evers signed his players to contracts, Murphy fired Evers as manager and traded him to the Boston Braves for Bill Sweeney and Hub Perdue. Murphy insisted that Evers had resigned as manager, which Evers denied. Evers insisted he was a free agent, but the league assigned him to the Braves. He signed a four-year contract at $10,000 per season ($235,449 in current dollar terms), with a $20,000 signing bonus.

Source: Wikipedia

Boston Braves outfielder Babe Ruth announces his retirement (June 2, 1935)

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1935, Babe Ruth, Boston Braves, Judge Emil Fuchs, June 2, Retirement

Babe Ruth – Boston Brave

Boston Braves outfielder Babe Ruth announces his retirement from baseball on June 2, 1935.

The 40-year old former Yankees slugger wanted to retire three weeks sooner, but team owner Judge Emil Fuchs persuaded him to continue to play because Boston hadn’t played in every National League park.

Braves pitcher Tom Hughes hurls a no-hitter (April 5, 1916)

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1916, April 5, Boston Braves, No Hitter, Rabbit Maranville, Tom Hughes

Tom Hughes

On April 5, 1916, Boston Braves pitcher Tom Hughes hurls a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Braves Field. Hughes strikes out seven and walks two.

For the Braves, Rabbit Maranville walks three times and scores both of the Braves’ runs. (The box score is unclear on how the runs were scored, since there were no RBIs; Maranville may have stolen home for one of the runs.)

The Braves win 2-0.

Johnny Cooney – (1921-1930, 1938-1942)

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1901, 1921, 1930, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1986, Bill Lohrman, Boston Bees, Boston Braves, Hank Greenberg, John Cooney, July 8, March 18

Johnny Cooney – Wikipedia

In a 20-season career, Cooney played for the Boston Bees/Braves (Braves, 1921–30, 1940–42; Bees, 1938–40) and also with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1935–37, 1943–44) and New York Yankees (1944), while hitting a .286 batting average (965-for-3372) with 219 RBI and only two home runs.

He had a very unique career. Perhaps one that we may never see again. He wasn’t the most accomplished player ever for the Braves. He was the only man to play in both leagues, coach in both leagues, manage in both leagues and umpire in one. He also had to overcome the obstacle of having surgery that left his throwing arm three inches shorter that his glove arm. He was a lefty.

He made 159 appearances as a pitcher from 1921 through 1930, all with Boston, winning 34 and losing 44 for a .436 winning percentage with 224 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA in 795⅓ Innings pitched.

In Cooney’s 20 big league seasons, he only hit two home runs. They came on back to back days with the Bees in 1939.

According to Hank Greenberg’s biographer, before Greenberg’s very first spring training exhibition game in 1930 when his Detroit Tigers were set to play the Braves, Cooney felt sympathy towards the 19-year-old then known as Henry, took him aside before the game and promised, “Kid, I’m going to give you one you can hit.” He did, and Greenberg did, as the future Hall of Fame slugger launched an impressive homer over the fence.

Kid, I’m going to give you one you can hit. ~Johnny Cooney

Originally, in 1921, he was going to play for the Red Sox. I guess he like cash better than a check as the deal with the Red Sox would only be by check. The Braves paid in cash.

In his second stint in the Majors, after 1935, Cooney concentrated on playing outfield and first base. His two homers were hit in consecutive games in September 1939, when he again played for Boston. His best averages as a regular came with the Braves, .318 in 1940 and .319 in 1941.

In 1941 he seemed to be the on Brave who had his act together. He was 40 years old at the time. He was a league leader in hitting. He also led the outfielders with a .996 fielding average. Pretty good defense. He also broke up a no-hit bid by New York’s Bill Lohrman.

The other Hank (1911 – 1923, 1929, 1930)

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1911, 1914, 1916, 1923, 1929, 1930, August 24, Boston Braves, Boston Rustlers, George Davis, Hank Gowdy, No Hitter, Tom Hughes

Hank Gowdy

Hank Gowdy came to the Braves in 1911 and played through 1923 and again in 29 to 30. He was a great catcher. Let’s just call him the “other Hank” but he is a stand out all on his own. He was born in Columbus, Ohio on August 24, 1889. He passed away on August 1, 1966.

What a thrill it had to be for him to play for the Miracle Braves. He was the star of the stunning October sweep of the highly favored Philadelphia Athletics.

Gowdy was the starting catcher for only the 1914 to 1916 seasons. He played with the club in all but 3 of his 17 seasons.

He caught a few no-hitters. A great experience for any catcher. He caught one by George Davis in 1914 (the Miracle year) and for Tom Hughes in 1916.

Boston Braves lose to the Giants at the Polo Grounds 5-8 (July 4, 1920)

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1920, Boston Braves, Everett Wiley Wilson, July 4

It wasn’t a great 4th of July for the Braves in 1920. They were at the Polo Grounds and ended up losing to the Giants 8-5. The losing pitcher for the Braves was Hugh McQuillan.

At that point in the season, the Braves were playing .500 ball. They would end up finishing seventh with a 62-90 record.

No fireworks for the Braves on the fourth that year.

My dad, Everett Wiley Wilson, was born the year before on 7/4/1919.

July 4 1920 the Braves lose to the Giants

Walter’s trade pays off (1919)

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1919, 1920, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Dick Rudolph, Jim Thorpe, May 1, May 30, Philadelphia Phillies, Rabbit Maranville, Walter Holke

Walter Holke

The Boston Braves played the Philadelphia Phillies on May 30, 1919. It was a great game for the Braves as they shut out the Phillies 6-0. It wasn’t necessarily a slug fest with 12 hits against the Phillies 4. The runs were evenly scattered with 2 each in the 2nd, 3rd and 7th innings.

The star of the game was first baseman Walter Holke, 26 that year. He had been traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Boston Braves for Jimmy Smith and cash. He went 2 for 4 scoring 1 run and getting 2 RBI’s against the Phillies that day. He also had 11 putouts at first base. Always a great fielder.

Holke holds the record for the most putouts by an infielder in a game, with 46 during a 26-inning game between the Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 1, 1920.

Rabbit Maranville played short stop and went 1-3.  He had a sacrifice hit, 1 putout and 2 assists.

Jim Thorpe would not have a great day in that he would only get one at bat. He did get a hit in his only at bat. Red Smith would replace him in left field. Perhaps he was pulled because of an error he made.

Dick “Baldy” Rudolph was the winning pitcher. He was 31 that year. He pitched a complete game. With this win, his record came to 2-6. He struck out 4 while facing 31 batters and had a 1.77 ERA for the game. Over the three-year period 1914-16, Rudolph was one of baseball’s best and most durable pitchers, hurling over 300 innings each season. Dick developed arm trouble in 1918, when he pitched just 154 innings. Though he bounced back with one more workhorse season in 1919 with a 13-18 record. He pitched in only 25 games over the next eight years, when he was more of a coach than a pitcher.